Common Sense Media Review
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Empowering advice to help girls discover their strength.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
THE CONFIDENCE CODE FOR GIRLS aims to help girls recognize and understand the power of confidence in action, and learn how to strengthen their own self-assurance. It outlines what confidence really looks like, focusing on the importance of living your values and acting with integrity. The authors outline the basic formula for building confidence -- taking more risks, avoiding overthinking, and being authentic -- and provide helpful exercises for readers to explore their own values and adjust that formula to suit their own passions and dreams.
Is It Any Good?
Broadcast journalists Katty Kay and Claire Shipman bring the cultural conversation about women taking leadership to a younger generation with this warm, practical handbook on building self-assurance. The Confidence Code for Girls is grounded in the world girls are growing up in today, from friendship drama amplified by social media to pressure to meet unrealistic expectations of how girls should look and act. Kay and Shipman (with JillEllyn Riley) securely attach the core ideas to current research on gender, culture, and psychology and explain them through relatable examples, inspiring stories, simple exercises, and quizzes. They offer practical steps for halting negative thought spirals, simple ways to defang bullies and toxic "friends," and tips for recognizing how culture affects the way women experience the world -- and why that's important to notice. It could be heavy stuff, but an upbeat, supportive tone and Nan Lawson's cheerful illustrations frame confidence-building as an irresistible adventure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the girls' stories in The Confidence Code for Girls. Which ones resonated with you? How have you handled similar situations? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
What inspiring representations of girls and women do you see in the media? What do see in media that you think undermines women and girls?
What does your confidence code look like?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Nan Lawson
- Genre : Advice
- Topics : Friendship
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : April 3, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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